Fire Emblem: Tales of Anna And Vyrne (Chapter 2)
by Spydr22
Summary: Chapter 2 of the Tales of Anna and Vyrne. Eight years after the events of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Anna the merchant comes across a young fox taguel named Vyrne. In this tale inspired by the Spice and Wolf series, follow Anna and her new companion as they set out to conquer the market. Well actually, Anna does most of the conquering, Vyrne just tries to escape.
1. Campsite

**Chapter 2: Vyrne The ****Anna**

**"Hey half-pint!"**

**A loud yell came to him from a distance. An exhausted Vyrne slowly opened his eyes before closing them again. "I'll get up in a second,'' he groaned drowsily. ''Can I please just have five more minutes?''**

**''Five more minutes? Time is money kid. Besides, you slept like a baby last night. Why do you look so rough?"**

**''Ugh," groaned Vyrne, responding to the mysterious voice with his eyes still closed. ''I had this horrible nightmare.''**

**''A nightmare huh," the voice asked. ''What happened?''**

**"It was horrible,'' Vyrne moaned. ''I dreamt that I was kidnapped by this really old, crazy, perverted lady and forced to be her slave. And that for a week, I was forced to do things like clean her wagon, wash her horse, cook her meals, and message her feet.''**

**"That sounds pretty bad," the voice replied. A sleepy Vyrne thought that he sensed some anger in the voice this time. But he figured that his tired ears were just playing tricks on him. **

**''Yeah," Vyrne agreed. ''And did I mention that she was old?''**

**''Yes,'' the agitated voice replied. ''You mentioned tha-**

**''Because she was old,'' Vyrne mumbled, cutting off the voice mid-sentence. ''Like, Naga was probably her best friend.''**

**''Why you little!''**

**At the voice's sudden change in tone, Vyrne open his eyes and it all came flooding back to him. A redheaded merchant woman was looking down at him in annoyance. He was living his nightmare, and he knew what was coming next. **

**Quickly, Vyrne attempted to scuttle away from his sleeping place on the ground but he just wasn't fast enough. A stinging bolt of electricity surged through his body, making every hair on his body stand straight up. **

**"Now,'' Anna said, putting her Levin Sword back onto the straps on her thigh, ''If you're finished insulting my charm and youthful good looks, we've got places to be today. So you'd better get busy clearing this campsite.''**

**''But Mistress Anna,'' wheezed Vyrne, taking in the early morning's air. ''I built and cleared the last two camps we've made. Do you think that maybe you could pitch in this time?''**

**"I would be happy to,'' Anna replied with a smile. She looked up and pressed her index finger to her chin. ''Of course, I'd have to add my working fee to someone's already-large debt.''**

**''N-Never mind,'' Vyrne snapped quickly. ''I'll start clearing the camp and packing the wagon.''**

**''Oh really,'' said Anna, as if she were surprised. ''Thank you so much! That's another five gold from your debt. Only 44,982 to go. You keep this up and we can go our separate ways in no time.'' Anna walked over to where a blanket lay on the ground. She laid down and stretched out on the soft cloth. ''Wake me with breakfast when you finish. I'm thinkin' a nice bowl of fruit.'' With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.**

* * *

><p><strong>"Stupid campsite,'' Vyrne mumbled as he grabbed a heavy sack of supplies and began to drag it toward the wagon. ''It isn't even daylight yet! '' Vyrne strained as he tugged the heavy sack across the dew-covered grass. ''I'll never escape at this rate,'' he said. <strong>

**Vyrne dragged. . . and dragged. . . and dragged. **

**Finally, Vyrne reached the wagon's rear and flung the bag onto the wagon with all of the strength he could muster. Satisfied, Vyrne looked back toward the camp site. His ears drooped and his satisfaction disappeared as he saw that he still had three bags, cooking supplies, and Anna's heavy saddle to pack. Vyrne hung his head. ''Why me,'' he asked. Just then, his ears perked. He had an idea. **

**The past two times he had prepared and cleaned camp, Anna was wide awake and watching him. But now, she was fast asleep. Now was his chance. Carefully and quietly, Vyrne tiptoed over to Anna's blanket. He looked and sure enough, there was a body-length bulge beneath the large, green cloth. Cautiously, Vyrne took ten steps back before getting on all fours and scampering towards the thick woods to the south of their campsite. **

**''I'm free,'' Vyrne exclaimed softly to himself as he dashed through the woods. ''I wish I would've thought of that before I spent all of that time loading that bag onto the wagon. But who cares? I'm free!"**

**Vyrne ran and ran until he stopped before a clearing. Something familiar caught his nose. It was Mistress Anna's scent. But it couldn't be. Mistress was back sleeping at the campsite. **

**"Maybe there's something stuck in my nose," Vyrne said, rubbing his nostrils as he entered the clearing. Just as he entered the clearing, Vyrne fell to the ground with a whimper of surprise. **

**"Oh,'' Anna said as she noticed Vyrne's cry. ''You come to tinkle too?'' **

**''Bu-But,'' stuttered an embarrassed, baffled Vyrne as he pointed back and forth between Anna, who was fastening the buckle on her pants, and the direction of the campsite. "H-How are you even-?''**

**''You ok kid," Anna asked suspiciously. She walked over to the Taguel boy and knelt down, cupping one hand to the side of her mouth as she whispered. "You didn't come out here to sneak a peek of my unmentionables did you?''**

**''What?!" Vyrne's face turned bright red and his ears stood up immediately and began to twitch. He pushed himself away from Anna with his feet. ''Of course not! What are you doing out here anyways?''**

**''Sheesh,'' Anna said, standing up. ''I was just kidding. And what do you mean 'What am I doing here?' Obviously, I'm here to tinkle.''**

**''Bu-But I saw you beneath your blanket,'' Vyrne said. **

**''Oh that,'' Anna chuckled. ''That's not me. It's just the sack of gold that I sleep with at night. It makes for a great full-body pillow.'' **

**Surprisingly, after just a week of traveling with the money-crazed merchant, this revelation didn't even surprise the young taguel boy. It actually made perfect sense. **

**''Hey," Anna said with a more stern look on her face. ''You weren't trying to escape were you?'' **

**''No not at all," Vyrne lied. ''I-just came to pick some of those berries I found yesterday.'' **

**''Uh huh,'' Anna said. ''Didn't you say that you got those from the bushes to our east?''**

**''You know what,'' Vyrne said with a forced smile. He was trapped within his own lie. ''I did say that.'' Vyrne took his paw and rubbed the back of his head. He was trying his hardest not to look guilty, but the blush on his small, flabby cheeks said it all. "I can't believe I forgot,'' he continued. ''Let me go pick and wash those right now.'' With that, a disappointed Vyrne scampered back toward the campsite. **


	2. Supply and Demand

**"Man kid," Anna exhaled as she leaned back on the seat of the wagon and patted her stomach. ''Breakfast was great! My complements to the chef.''**

**Anna straightened up and returned her attention to her horse's reins. Slowly and silently, the horse, wagon, and passengers treaded along a dirt path that was taking them north. Other than the merchant and her wagon, the trail was empty and silent. There were no trees on either side of them, so no birds sang to the companions while they rode. The plain that they traveled along sat in the middle of a vast, grassy plain. Normally, this route was bustling with wind and drenched in rains. today however, the road was nothing but sunshine. Even the wind was silent. Anna was beginning to miss the usual weather. At least it gave her something to listen to while she road. **

**''What's the matter,'' Anna asked, looking down at Vyrne who sat to the left of her in his baggy trousers and the white cloak that Anna had given him to conceal the pointy ears atop his fur-covered head. "No thank you? Not even a smart comment?''**

**Vyrne swiftly and silently turned to the right in response, folding his arms across his mid-section in what appeared to be frustration. **

**''You sick or something,'' Anna asked. This time, Vyrne responded by shaking his head. That's when she heard it. Just as Anna began to return her focus to the road, she heard a weak creaking sound coming from her left-or more specifically, from the Taguel boy's stomach. **

**''Oh," Anna smirked, putting the pieces together. ''I get it. You've been living off of berries and shrubbery for the past week. But foxes are used to a little more meat in their diets aren't they?"**

**He had been caught. For the past week, Vyrne had been trying his hardest to conceal his carnivorous nature. He just knew that if Mistress Anna found out, she would figure out a way to make his meat-eating tendencies put gold into her pockets. To make matters worse, without a working Beast Stone, Vyrne lost most of his hunting abilities as well as a great deal of physical strength. He couldn't even catch a rabbit. **

**'''Well,'' huffed Vyrne, turning back to his oppressor. ''I wouldn't be starving half to death if you would just let me go!''**

**''Relax,'' giggled the merchant, patting her companion on the head. "It just so happens that I possess the cure to your suffering.'' Anna reached inside of her back pocked an pull out a small sack. Vyrne's nose instantly caught the scent as the bag was opened and instinctively, his mouth began to water. In a matter of moments, a small trail of drool was streaming from his lower jaw. **

**"Is-is that-" began Vyrne as he stared at the bag with his wide, amber-orange eyes. He was so entranced that he could barely speak. **

**''Dried beef,'' Anna said. "Half-a-pound's worth.''**

**Vyrne didn't care about anything anymore. He just knew that he hadn't even seen an edible piece of meat in a week. Now here was half of a pound of it in front of him. **

**''Please I,'' staggered Vyrne, the words stumbling out of his mouth. ''I-I-want it,'' he managed, his eyes still fixed on the dried meat. **

**Anna tossed the dried meat into the air. Vyrne's eyes were glued to the snack as it flew into the air and did something of a summersault as it hovered for a split second before falling back down only to be caught between Anna's teeth. Vyrne's heart shattered as he watched Anna slowly chewing the beef. **

**''What was that kid,'' Anna asked while chewing the meat loudly. ''I didn't quite catch that.''**

**''I want it,'' Vyrne said. This time, he spoke loudly. ''Please Mistress Anna! I'm starving!''**

**''Well,'' Anna began. ''Since you said please.'' She looked up for a second and pressed her index finger to her chin as if thinking. Then, she looked back at him. ''One hundred and fifty gold,'' she stated.**

**''What,'' Vyrne asked ''You're charging me!?'' **

**''Hey,'' Anna shrugged. ''A merchant's gotta make a living. It's simple supply and demand.''**

**''Supply and demand?" Vyrne's head tilted to the side in curiosity and his ears perked up. He had never heard of this supposedly simple concept before. "What's that?''**

**''Seriously," Anna asked. She practically knew what supply and demand was since birth. The merchant woman couldn't fathom the idea that someone had no knowledge of such a basic economic principle. ''You really don't know?'''**

**''Uh-uh," Vyrne said, shaking his head. **

**Anna was genuinely shocked. ''Wow,'' she said. ''You've lived a pretty sheltered life kid. No wonder you ran away from your folks. '' **

**''Actually,'' began Vyrne. ''I'm not a runaway." That was just the lie that Vyrne told Anna so that he didn't have to admit that he was practically orphaned at birth. Vyrne had never known his parents. He had never even seen or smelled them. For as long as he could remember, Vyrne lived alone in whichever forest he could find food and a place to sleep. He wondered constantly about his parents and he just couldn't stand the thought of anyone insulting them-even the made-up versions. "I'm an orphan.'' **

**''Oh man,'' Anna said solemnly. ''My bad kid.''**

**For a moment, there was an awkward silence as the horse-drawn wagon began to ascend up a hill. All was silent save for the creaking of the wagon and the clopping of horseshoes. **

**''Um," Anna spoke, breaking the silence. He index finger was pressed to her chin again. ''Supply and demand is like this:" Anna held up the bag of beef again, rousing Vyrne's hunger. ''See this bag of meat?''**

**''Yeah,'" Vyrne said hungrily as his stomach grumbled. **

**''Well," Anna continued. ''In this situation, this meat is the object that I'm supplying because of your hunger, because of your demand. Get it?''**

**Vyrne twirled her words around in his head for a bit. **

**"So," he began, ''If I wasn't hungry, you would keep starving me?''**

**''Right,'' Anna answered. ''Well. . Sort of. . If you weren't demanding meat, then my supply wouldn't make a profit. It'd be practically useless. ''**

**''So. . . you only supply what people demand,'' Asked Vyrne. **

**''Exactly," Anna responded cheerfully. **

**"So then,'' began Vyrne who was still pondering this strange, new concept. ''If you want to make a profit, then why are you charging me so much money? Maybe I'd buy it from you if it wasn't so expensive. ''**

**''Easy," Anna retorted, pressing he index finger into Vyrne's forehead. ''It's because I'm the only supplier right now. You have no choice but to buy it off of me.'' **

**Vyrne quickly smacked Anna's had away. ''You're saying that you can force me to pay outrageous prices because you're the only person who has meat?''**

**''Right," Anna smiled. ''If I had competition, then I'd have to try and have the better, lower prices.''**

**''So then,'' Vyrne started, pointing at the bag of dried beef. ''How much is it now?''**

**''Two hundred gold,'' Anna said with a friendly smile. **

**Vyrne's hand flopped down at the mention of the new, higher price. **

**"Don't worry,'' Anna said. ''I'll put it on your tab.'' **


End file.
